I Will Stand Up

Growing up, growing up day by day
Growing up, growing up still cannot stand to see your face
Growing up a little at a time,
The regrets are all left behind
But I still cannot get these words out of my head,
All the memories, all the things that you had said
And to think I might have been dead from words of anger
That you left in my head
But I know better you see, I know you can never be me
For deep down is where the beauty lies
Deep down I know that you are broken inside, because you
Pick on the weak instead of picking yourself up
Instead of you growing up, you stay where you are
I won't be defeated just because I have scars, no I will stand up
I will stand up for I grow each day
I will stand up for I'm not afraid
I will stand up for the meek for the poor for the weary and the worn;
For I know what it's like, to be in their shoes to grow
From the ground up, and to learn you need help, when there is no more
You may have brought me down, but I know better, and better is me

PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK OF POETRY

Editor’s Note

The number one question our editors receive is—what do the editors and judges look for when judging the contest? The number one answer we give is creativity. Unlike prose, writing composed in everyday language, poetry is considered a creative art and requires a different type of effort and a certain level of depth. Of the thousands of poems entered in each contest, the ones that catch our judges’ eyes are the ones that remove us, even just slightly, from the scope of everyday life by using language that is interesting, specific, vivid, obscure, compelling, figurative, and so on. Oftentimes, poems are pulled aside for a second look based simply on certain words that intrigued the reader. So first and foremost, be sure your poetry is written using creative language. Take general ideas and make them personal. In his infamous book De/Compositions: 101 Good Poems Gone Wrong, W. D. Snodgrass imparts, “We cannot honestly discuss or represent our lives, any more than our poems, without using ideational language.”